Last Camp Season: 89,323 Coaches and Athletes Attended 805 Camps in 42 States and 92 Nations— ‘Fellowship Is the Field to Our Faith’
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The summer of 2021 is a time to celebrate as thousands upon thousands of student-athletes look forward to a time of fun and fulfillment, both athletically and spiritually as they flock to Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA, www.fca.org) Camps across America and around the world. They look forward to being with others and many are either packed and ready to go—or already at camp!
For the thousands of student-athletes who are attending FCA Camps across the nation and the globe this summer, the significant experience promises to be life-changing.
“We are thrilled that our Camps this year are able to impact so many coaches, athletes, teams, and entire communities,” said Shane Williamson, FCA’s president and CEO. “FCA Camps provide a unique and remarkable opportunity for teams to truly unite in sport—and more importantly, to unite in fellowship with one another to honor and glorify Our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Added Williamson, “We want to be a part of helping heal the next generation—and give them confidence and passion for their future. We believe fellowship is the field to our faith. We’ve seen a huge passion and outpouring of interest in people wanting to participate and to get back into areas of opportunity where they can be in community and fellowship—and enjoy each other in ways that we haven’t for over a year.”
The Christian Post, in a new article, highlighted the many benefits of FCA Camps.
FCA’s numbers and impact are impressive. FCA welcomed a record-setting 89,323 coaches and athletes to its programs in the summer of 2019 (the most recent camp season, given the COVID pandemic). These 89,323 coaches and athletes attended 805 camps in 42 states across the country, as well as 92 nations around the globe—nearly double the number of countries that hosted FCA camps in the previous year. At these FCA Camps, 20,526 individuals made faith decisions for Christ.
FCA Camps allow coaches and athletes to experience an exciting, inspiring, and healthy environment in which they can pursue their passion for sport—while also clearly seeing Christ’s passion for them. And while there’s differentiation across the U.S. and the world regarding COVID restrictions, FCA is observing the individual guidelines as closely as possible.
Six different types of FCA Camps provide competitors with the chance to reach their potential through athletic, spiritual, and leadership training: Sports Camps (multi-sport and sport-specific camps); Leadership Camps (developing coaches and athletes to be leaders); Coaches Camps (designed to minister, equip, and encourage); Team Camps (allowing student-athletes to come together to compete); Power Camps (typically for athletes 8-12 years of age); and Partnership Camps (FCA partners with some of the best organizations).
Several FCA Camps have already begun, while hundreds are set for the rest of June and throughout July and August this year. And yes—after the coronavirus outbreak knocked out sports seasons or forced people worldwide to engage online without physically interacting—FCA Camps are open and in full swing this year.
Since 1956, the impact on coaches and athletes has been the main focus of FCA Camps, with each Camp offering fun, outstanding sports training, inspiring speakers, strong friendships, and lasting change. View the 2019 FCA Camps video here and browse camps by location, sport or date at www.fcacamps.org.
FCA’s theme for 2021 is Pursue, which is based on verse 1 of Timothy 6:11: “Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.” FCA encourages its members to pursue God’s use of His Word as an anchor, grounding Christians as they look to His Kingdom.
Read more about Fellowship of Christian Athletes here, visit FCA’s website at www.fca.org, its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TheFCATeam or its Twitter feed https://twitter.com/TheFCATeam.